Bears

- The team that was good enough last season to beat eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay for the NFC North title and advance to the conference championship game is off to a puzzling start. The Chicago Bears (4-3) at least have that much in common with the Eagles (3-4), their opponent this Monday night in a nationally televised game that could make or break each team's season. The Bears were sitting at 2-3 before crushing Minnesota 39-10 and then going to London to hand Tampa Bay a 24-18 setback.

Bill Davis admits it was difficult to sit and watch his defense get shredded on third down against the Bears last Friday night, so the Eagles defensive coordinator bit hard on his lip and resisted the temptation to do something about it. It was, he said, all in the name of evaluation. "Yeah, third down wasn't a good night for us," said Davis on Monday, just hours before the Eagles set out for a week in New England for three days of practices with the Patriots. "But one of the products of that is I really am trying to evaluate.

The Chicago Bears have an open spot on their 53-man roster and they put a group of linebackers and wide receivers through a workout Friday at Halas Hall, along with a familiar quarterback. Former Northwestern and Eagles quarterback Mike Kafka was involved in the workout, according to multiple league sources. However, after the addition of Jordan Palmer to the roster earlier this week, it is unlikely Kafka is in the mix for a roster spot. He likely was involved to help give the wide receivers a look.

— Chip Kelly remains unconcerned. So does Nick Foles. Yet the fact remains that the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback was interecepted as many times (two) in his preseason opener against the Chicago Bears on Friday night as he was the entire regular season and postseason a year ago. Sunday, before the team practiced at Franklin Field, coach Kelly tried to explain the fluke factor behind Foles' struggles. "There is not one thing," Kelly said. "It's just the combination obviously in that whole group, and everybody contributes to it. The penalties set us back.

The Jan. 19 Morning Call had a picture of the Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King statue. Perhaps the city should have second thoughts about the purchase. The sculpture looks nothing like them. No likeness at all! Not a fitting monument to them. Allen Bernstein Allentown

CHICAGO — The Eagles today announced left cornerback Asante Samuel would not be making the trip with them to Chicago for Sunday's game against the Bears. Samuel, who leads the NFL with seven interceptions, injured his knee and has not been able to practice since playing in the Eagles' 27-17 victory over the New York Giants last Sunday. Samuel intercepted two passes in that game. Two other defensive injuries, end Juqua Parker (hip) and tackle Antonio Dixon (abdomen) apparently will be game-time decisions.

The palpitation of hunters' hearts is almost audible this week. Next Monday marks the opening of archery bear season in Pennsylvania, one of the three big-game animals with an open season in the state, not counting elk, where permits are awarded by a lottery system. Black bears in Pennsylvania are rising to national prominence thanks to six of them with estimated live weights of 800 pounds or greater having been legally taken since 1992. That kind of size draws hunters seeking trophy bears.

Eight days after "Boo-Boo" bear was sighted in a Moore Township mobile home park, a black bear made an appearance Wednesday evening in the same township. James Deibert of 2225 Benders Drive, near Bath, said his neighbor called him about 7 p.m. to report the bear was dining on the bird feeder next door. Deibert looked out, and the bear had moved to his backyard. No one was hurt, and the bear went on its way. Bears are fairly common in the heavily wooded township, which includes a six-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail.

CHICAGO — The offense that opened the preseason Friday night for the Eagles will be more dynamic in one month when the regular season begins. The playbook will be more expansive and play-calling more creative, so hysteria about a group that set records one year ago would be premature. But coach Chip Kelly's offense looked lackluster in its first game appearance. The starters played three uninspiring series, all in the first quarter. Two ended with Nick Foles interceptions. The other ended with a three-and-out.

- Year 2 of the Chip Kelly era for the Philadelphia Eagles brings a whole lot more clarity to the top half of the roster. For example, no more than three starting jobs for this season are still in question (barring injury), and quarterback, which was the biggest mystery surrounding this team exactly one year ago, is not one of them. Now, as they head to Chicago for their preseason opener against the Bears tonight (at 8, Channel 6), they already have reasonably defined expectations of what they'll get from Nick Foles commanding an offense that includes the NFL's rushing leader from a year ago and a solid offensive line featuring a pair of returning Pro Bowl players.

Ellen Noble frequents the Mekhong Thai restaurant in Kennebunkport, Maine for two reasons. First, the 18 year old loves the food. Second, she runs into former President George H. W. Bush. "You never know whom you might see," she said. Sunday at the USA Cycling Mountain Biking National championships at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Longswamp Township, Noble recorded her second national title this weekend by dominating the junior short track from the outset in 25 minutes, 49 seconds.

The slopes at Bear Creek Mountain Resort are usually deserted this time of year. Not so this weekend. For the second straight year the ski area outside of Macungie in Longswamp Township will host the USA Cycling Cross-Country Mountain Bike National Championships beginning Thursday and running through Sunday afternoon. More than 60 championships in cross-country, short track cross-country and the Super D will be determined, along with automatic World Championship team nominations for men's and women's 17-18 juniors, U-23 and elite winners.

A black bear made an appearance in the backyard of a rural Haycock Township home on Wednesday evening, and after trying to steal suet from a bird feeder, the bear went back into the woods. "We got a call from our neighbor," said Natalie Searl of Stoney Garden Road. "She said there's a bear coming to our house. I said, thanks for telling us, we'll get our cameras. " Searl and her husband, Clint, went to the window about 6:30 p.m. as the bear stood up at the bird feeder, where a woodpecker already was snacking on the fat. The bear went for the suet, but didn't quite reach it. "He couldn't get to the suet because of the wire mesh on the feeder," Searl said.

I'll begin this edition of bloopers with a wildlife story. According to a newspaper police item, authorities were looking for a man who tried to lure girls into his car. "He is described as between the ages of 40 and 50 with a brownish-red bear driving a black older model pickup truck with dents and scratches, police said. " I would think that would make him pretty easy to find. The reader wrote, "Who do you call, the police or the game warden?" She added, "Kind of reminds me of an article several years ago that told of the local police out looking for an escaped boa constrictor.

Two dining venues at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Longswamp Township are dishing up diverse specials this summer. Gather a group, large or small, to enjoy Family Style Italian Night in the poolside ambience of Trail's End Cafe and Bar 5-9:30 p.m. every Monday through Labor Day. (Happy hour runs 5-7 p.m. Mon., 2-4 p.m. Tues.-Fri.) Shareable Italian delights include appetizers, pastas and entrees. Main dishes, which come with bread and a choice of house or Caesar salad, are offered in small portions that serve 2-3 and portions for 3-4. Classics include spaghetti with house-made meatballs, shrimp scampi linguine, baked rigatoni, beef braciole, chicken limone and eggplant Parmesan.